A tip of the hat to regional Republican lawmaker Rep. Greg Barreto. The Cove House of Representatives lawmaker announced he will not seek re-election in 2020.
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A recent study produced by the Knight Foundation and Gallup probably didn’t grab the attention of a lot of county residents, but it sure caught our gaze.
When people spend other people’s money, they can be less than finicky. And so it seems with workers at the state of Oregon.
The local community came out in force Monday to honor area veterans, a clear sign that Umatilla County hasn’t forgotten those who made a sacrifice and a commitment to our nation.
If there’s anything that frustrates Oregonians, it’s politicians or government employees using their position for personal advantage.
A tip of the hat to our brave men and women of the Armed Forces — past, present and future — who deserve our praise, our awareness and our thanks.
Filling the role of a local politician isn’t easy.
There's a kernel of truth in some of President Donald Trump's recent tweets about this year's California wildfires, but just a bit: Overall, the president's tweets show the same general disreg…
Hermiston School District patrons received a fair bit of good news Wednesday morning.
A big shout-out of praise to the volunteers who arrived at Olney Cemetery last weekend to spruce it up before Veterans Day.
If you live in the Lexington area and want to have a voice in local politics, now is your chance.
A tip of the hat to those who take the time to participate in democracy. It is, after all, one key to the health of our nation. That is why it is always with a certain degree of frustration we…
Oregon Republicans most likely understood at the end of the last session that the controversial carbon emission issue wasn’t going to go away.
In the West, few resources evoke more passion than water. The reason is obvious: Everything comes down to the quantity and quality of water.
Oregon may not know it yet, but in 2021 it is going to lose a tremendous amount of influence in Washington, D.C.
State Sen. Mark Hass, D-Beaverton, believes Oregonians would be better served if they could register to vote right up through Election Day. The change, he argues, would improve voter turnout, …
A kick in the pants to the two teenagers facing felony charges for assaulting a Pendleton man on the river parkway.
Enough time has passed — 22 years — since the last Amtrak passenger train rolled to a stop in Baker City, La Grande or Pendleton that some people likely have only a hazy memory, if any at all,…
You can be savoring an IPA along the Umatilla River after a long day of adventuring in Oregon’s forests and honestly wonder if things couldn’t get much better. But sometimes those charged with…
Morrow County’s plan to increase code enforcement is a good one and we hope officials will find a solution sooner rather than later.
Some 15 years after Congress passed the Real ID Act, creating a set of standards for the issuance of identification documents, the state of Oregon finally is getting ready to issue driver’s li…
There are several questions that need to be answered regarding an $86,977 fine levied on the city of Pendleton by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality regarding its new fire station.
A tip of the hat to Umatilla County and the city of Hermiston for striking a deal with Amazon to build new data centers near Stanfield.
We welcome last week’s news that China has agreed to buy between $40 billion and $50 billion in U.S. agriculture products as part of a “cease fire” in the ongoing trade war between the two countries.
Ginger McCall, Oregon’s first public records advocate, left office Friday with some suggestions for her successor, the Public Records Advisory Council she headed, and lawmakers and other offic…
Two efforts to recall Gov. Kate Brown stalled Monday, sending the clear message that while many voters are dissatisfied with her performance she isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Imagine if every year the U.S. military suffered thousands of causalities in some foreign conflict.
A tip of the hat to Dave and Jodene Hughes, who are leaving Eastern Oregon Mission after 17 years serving Hermiston and surrounding communities through the Agape House and Martha’s House.
Two developments emerged in the public records arena last week. One would make the state’s public records advocate independent from the governor’s office — a necessary step. The other is a tro…
With all due respect to Sonny Perdue, there’s more to farming than size.
The fact that the Oregon Liquor Control Commission is moving ahead to formulate plans to execute Gov. Kate Brown’s order that bans vaping products is good news.
Like Kate Brown, who replaced him as Oregon governor, John Kitzhaber wanted to do away with the death penalty in the state.
A big shout out to all the individuals involved in the effort to restore the Helix City Hall.
A tip of the hat to the agencies that took part in the multi-agency drill Wednesday in Hermiston.
A potentially flawed law passed by the 2019 Legislature that limits application of the death penalty took effect Sunday without a fix, potentially allowing already convicted death-row inmates …
Public feedback to government entities is a crucial piece of democracy and that is why residents in Hermiston should take advantage of an opportunity to furnish input on the city’s parks and r…
Farm groups are lauding a new agricultural trade deal the administration has reached with Japan.
We’ve turned the calendar into October, which means it’s time to fully confront the rites of autumn: raking leaves, loading up on pumpkin spice (to include, apparently, in everything edible fo…
Sometimes, it appears that the environmental community can be its own worst enemy. Instead of building bridges with farmers and ranchers, some environmental groups do the opposite. Anywhere th…
The residents of Pendleton were able to see first-hand on Sunday just how important it is to invest in public safety.
A tip of the hat to the many sponsors of a project in Athena to replace an old bridge over Wildhorse Creek that will allow salmon and lamprey to swim inside 18 miles of new habitat.
Two years ago, Hermiston voters turned down a bond for Hermiston School District. The district is back on the ballot this November, with a better deal than it previously offered taxpayers.
Oregonians may be asked next year to approve a ballot measure that would decriminalize the possession of illegal drugs. That in itself is a bad idea; worse is the way the measure would finance…
You can be forgiven for not noticing this, but the 2020 election season in Oregon officially has begun.
Last week Oregon Director of Agriculture Alexis Taylor delivered a sobering report to members of the state Legislature.
Gov. Kate Brown missed an excellent opportunity when she declined last week to call for a special session of the Legislature to amend Senate Bill 1013, a new law that revises the crime of aggr…
A tip of the hat to the Umatilla County Historical Society, who needs to do some renovating and wants help from the Pendleton Development Commission.
Cannabidiol, commonly known as CBD, may be the wonder drug that its users and advocates hope and claim it to be, offering relief for everything from anxiety and arthritis to Parkinson’s diseas…
“Waters of the United States” sounds like the title of a coffee table book but the reality is rather less benign than a hefty tome crammed with pretty photographs.
Rural counties in Western states have fought for years to receive reasonable compensation for the vast swaths of federal land within their borders. Members of Congress spend considerable time …
A key part of any governmental oversight committee or agency is independence. The freedom to investigate, before legislating, is crucial in the American democratic process and without it the g…
Ed Peterson, retired chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, thinks Gov. Kate Brown’s appointment of her general counsel to the Oregon Court of Appeals doesn’t pass the smell test. His is t…
Oregon agriculture is a big tent. From the smallest acreage in Western Oregon to the largest ranch in Eastern Oregon, from the newest hemp farm in Central Oregon to the multi-generational gras…
The immigration crisis on our southern border is one of those hot-button political issues that evolved into a quagmire of good intentions and misguided policy decisions. Everyone from the pres…
The Pendleton Round-Up attracts cowboys and rodeogoers to town every September, and Oregon’s university presidents as well, who come to town for alumni events and to join in Friday’s Westward …